Human resource planning determines the human resources required by the organization to achieve its strategic goals. As defined by Bulla and Scott (1994) it is 'the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements'. Human resource planning is based on the belief that people are an organization's most important strategic resource. It is generally concerned with matching resources to business needs in the longer term, although it will sometimes address shorter term requirements. It addresses human resource needs both in quantitative and qualitative terms, which means answering two basic questions: first, how many people, and second, what sort of people? Human resource planning also looks at broader issues relating to the ways in which people are employed and developed in order to improve organizational effectiveness. It can therefore play an important part in strategic human resource management.